Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Sergei Yurevitch Filin the 42 year old Russian ballet dancer artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow was attacked with acid by an unknown assailant. He suffered third-degree burns to his face and is in danger of losing his eyesight. The attack came after a lengthy period of infighting and rows within the Bolshoi Ballet company. Ellen Barry has published an article in the New York Times titled ‘Harsh Light Falls on Bolshoi After Acid Attack’, in which she states “The stories about vengeance at the Bolshoi Ballet go back centuries: The rival who hid an alarm clock in the audience, timed to go off during Giselle’s mad scene, or who threw a dead cat onto the stage at curtain in lieu of flowers. There are whispers of needles inserted in costumes, to be discovered in midpirouette, or – the worst – broken glass nestled in the tip of a toeshoe. The ballet has experienced poisonous infighting in recent years as artistic directors have come and gone. But this ballet-loving city awoke … to a special horror. A masked man had flung acid in the face of Sergei Filin, the artistic director of the Bolshoi, causing third-degree burns and severely damaging his eyes. Video from the hospital showed Mr. Filin’s head covered entirely in bandages, with openings for his eyes and mouth, his eyelids grossly swollen. Though police officials said they were exploring theories including disputes over money, Mr. Filin’s colleagues at the Bolshoi said they suspected professional jealousy. In recent weeks Mr. Filin’s tires had been slashed, his car scratched, his two cellphones disabled, his personal e-mail account hacked and private correspondence published, according to Bolshoi officials.”

Inspired by Ellen Barry, New York Times ow.ly/gXHut Image source Bolshoi ow.ly/gXHsr

Firmly in the saddle at 90 (April 14th 2012)

Irina Aleksandrovna Antonova the 90 year old Russian Director of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow for the past 50+ years has been the subject of an article by Anna Somers Cocks published in The Art Newspaper titled ‘Firmly in the saddle at 90’. Cocks states, “She has served there for 67 years, joining it one month before the end of the Second World War. “It was August 1945”, she remembers: “The works of art confiscated from the Dresden museums were arriving as war reparations [most were returned in 1955 as part of a political treaty with East Germany]… Since 1961, she has been the highly respected director of the museum, which is only ten years older than herself. Its centenary and her birthday will be celebrated together in great state at the Bolshoi Theatre on 31 May. Directors of the leading museums of the world, members of the exclusive and discreet Bizot Group, a kind of museum summit, are coming to pay homage to a woman who has skillfully navigated the dangerous political shoals of her country and has represented it with distinction abroad.”

Inspired by Anna Somers Cocks http://ow.ly/a80H3 image source http://ow.ly/a810j

Marat Alexandrovich Gelman the 50 year old owner and director of Guelman’s Contemporary Art Gallery has opened a new art centre in the historic Russian city of Tver, a Stalin era terminal on the Volga river outside of Moscow. The centre named TverCA follows Gelman’s transformation of the industrial city Perm in the Ural mountain region into an art destination place, with plans to open similar centres in many other regions throughout Russia. The TverCA centre opened with a controversial exhibition titled ‘Russia for All’ by Dmitry Gutov and Viktor Bondarenko, depicting names of famous Russian/Soviet historical figures in a graffiti style along with their ethnic origins. Although intended to be a statement against nationalism, critics claim the inclusion of the ethnic origin only further foments nationalism.

Inspired by Sophia Kishkovsky http://ow.ly/65hsL image source Peoples History http://ow.ly/65hN6